Titus Andronicus Violence Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to the Riverside edition.

Quote #10

Why, there they are both, baked in that pie;Whereof their mother daintily hath fed,Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred.'Tis true, 'tis true; witness my knife's sharp point. (5.3.9)

When Titus plays the role of chef and serves Tamora a human meat pie, we're not sure if we should cringe or laugh out loud. There's something about the gleeful and sing-songy way in which Titus reveals his secret ingredients that makes this scene both comical and grisly.

Quote #11

MARCUS ANDRONICUS You sad-faced men, people and sons of Rome,By uproar sever'd, like a flight of fowlScatter'd by winds and high tempestuous gusts,O, let me teach you how to knit againThis scatter'd corn into one mutual sheaf,These broken limbs again into one body;Lest Rome herself be bane unto herself, (5.3.2)

By the end of the play, the revenge-fuelled bloodshed has nearly destroyed Rome. Now the play seems interested in how Rome can be mended after so much unspeakable violence and destruction.